Historic movie palaces / Southwest Detroit / Mexicantown
Rio Theater
Closed – archive entry · 1935
Southwest Detroit's Art Deco meets Spanish Colonial movie house on West Vernor Highway, opened in 1935. With about 1,400 seats it was a first-run neighborhood house until it closed in the 1960s.
Quick facts
- Opened
- 1935
- Architect
- Cyril E. Schley
- Style
- Art Deco with Spanish Colonial elements
- Seats
- about 1,400
02 / The story of this place
Make time for these
The Rio opened on West Vernor Highway in 1935, an unusual blend of Art Deco and Spanish Colonial. It was designed by Cyril E. Schley, a protégé and partner of C. Howard Crane who later drew the Telenews. With about 1,400 seats it was a first-run neighborhood house for southwest Detroit. In 1963 it was listed as a Detroit Theater Enterprises house along with the Hollywood and the Roxy. It closed as a cinema in the 1960s.
- Art Deco and Spanish Colonial in one
- Designed by Crane protégé Cyril E. Schley
- About 1,400 seats in southwest Detroit
Plan your visit
The Rio closed as a cinema in the 1960s; its floor was leveled for retail, though some interior decoration is reported to survive. For a movie night, see the working cinemas in our guide.
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